Jetstar passengers stranded after check-in system crashes
The IT outage lasted three hours on Saturday, causing queues and impacting the flight timetable
MikeTyes
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Jetstar passengers were unable to check into their flights as the result of an Australia-wide technical outage that left customers stranded for hours.
The low-cost Australian airline said over the weekend it was experiencing some “technical difficulties” with its system, leading to queues forming and causing disruption to the flight schedule.
Jetstar confirmed the outage on Saturday just before 2pm while replying to a customer on X (formerly Twitter), who said that passengers were having issues checking in to their flights.
The airline said that there was no impact to its online check-in system, and recommended that customers check in online if they could.
“We're sorry for the inconvenience caused. We are experiencing some technical difficulties with our system at the moment,” the airline wrote.
“Our team is working hard to get this fixed as soon as possible so we appreciate your patience in the meantime.”
One passenger wrote that no one was able to check in for hours in Sydney, leading to hundreds waiting in the airport with many sitting on the floor.
Other passengers said the technical difficulties had also impacted passengers in Bali, with very long queues forming there, too.
Later in the day, a spokesperson on X said that Jetstar anticipated “that we will be up and running smoothly again within the next hour so we appreciate your patience in the meantime”.
A Jetstar spokesperson told The Independent that an IT issue on Saturday had impacted the airline’s check-in and boarding systems.
The technical outage lasted for about three hours and resulted in some delays and a small number of cancellations.
“Our operations are returning to normal however there may still be some flow on impacts to flights today,” the spokesperson told News.com.au on Saturday.
“We thank customers for their patience and understanding and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Customers who were impacted by the issue were contacted directly and put on the next available flight.
The incident follows a widespread IT outage last year, which saw the aviation industry thrown into chaos and left passengers stranded across airports.
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent for The Independent said: “Aviation is arguably the industry that depends more than any other on information technology – and IT failures are unfortunately a frequent occurrence across the world.
“Such disruption highlights the vast difference between European and Australian passengers’ rights.
“When Jetstar cancelled my flight from Singapore to Melbourne last month, the options were simply a refund or a future flight at the airline’s convenience. I ended up spending a fortune on an Emirates flight.
“UK passengers caught up in this muddle may find their travel insurance is helpful.”
The Independent has contacted Jetstar for further comment.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
